He donned the FC Bayern jersey for a total of twelve years, is Germany's most-capped player and the only German World Player of the Year to date: when a man like Lothar Matthäus turns 60, it's only right he's honoured with a look back at his outstanding career. To mark his birthday, the FC Bayern Museum is dedicating a special exhibition to the legend: 'IL GRANDE LOTHAR. World Cup winner, World Player of the Year, Record-breaker'.
Visitors can look forward to the lovingly designed exhibition with selected exhibits when the FC Bayern Museum reopens. "I'm very grateful for everything I've accomplished in my career - and also for the honour FC Bayern is bestowing on me with this special exhibition," said Matthäus. "Lothar has shaped German football like few others - his international appeal is still huge today," said FC Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge. President Herbert Hainer added: "As a footballer, Lothar Matthäus stood for enormous quality, an incredible will and tremendous passion. He's also still a role model long after retiring as a player."
Because Matthäus selected personal exhibits from his private collection for the FC Bayern Museum, the special exhibition shines a light on the career of the native Franconian from his first steps to his great triumphs. For example, the certificate for honorary membership at his boyhood club 1. FC Herzogenaurach is just as much a part of the exhibition as the gold-plated adidas boot from the World Cup final he won in Rome in 1990, which tells its very own story.
Main exhibit and eye-catcher: The World Player of the Year trophy
The main object of the exhibition is the World Player of the Year trophy, which Matthäus personally unveiled at the official opening ceremony. The years surrounding the 1990 World Cup victory are the focus of attention in many places, including the emotional birthday movie, which was largely shot at the FC Bayern Museum. In the completely redesigned time booth of the years 1990-1999, visitors learn, among other things, a secret about the boot Matthäus wore in the final, which Diego Maradona († 2020) had specially-prepared two years earlier, and can also see the 1990 World Cup winner's jersey which was autographed by the entire team.
Anyone who is a member of four halls of fame has left his mark at each of his clubs. Matthäus celebrated no less than seven German championships, two cup victories and also a 1996 UEFA Cup triumph with FC Bayern, the club he joined from Mönchengladbach in 1984 and the one he returned to from 1992 to 2000. But "IL GRANDE" also had four successful years at Inter Milan between 1988 and 1992. All his clubs - including the one towards the end of his career in New York - are represented in the special exhibition by selected strips, which are also displayed on the jersey wall.
The birthday boy's verdict was unequivocal. "The exhibition is a great success. I hope that fans will soon be able to come to the FC Bayern Museum again," said Matthäus.
